Cheap lens pricing (venting)

[Doug]

I had a lens for sale for a while, everyone seems to want one in Wanted to Buys, but nobody wishes to pay for one. I don't get it. If the price averages 27% off retail, is that not a reasonable discount for a good lens with no known issues? I'm just asking for input is all. Honestly, I don't care if I sell the lens or not, I'll sit it in the "cupboard" as my Euro friends say and gaze at it's shere beauty, or as we say in the USA, I'll sit it in the can and sit on it. haha.

I'm just confused, I mean you cannot discount a cheap lens (329.00 new) the same amount as a 1500.00 lens, if you do, you may as well just box it up and give it to someone. Doh!

I feel better now.

 

[GeoKost]

If the price averages 27% off retail, is that not a reasonable discount for a good lens with no known issues? I'm just asking for input is all. Honestly, I don't care if I sell the lens or not, I'll sit it in the "cupboard" as my Euro friends say and gaze at it's shere beauty, or as we say in the USA, I'll sit it in the can and sit on it.

(1) Where did you come up with 27%?
(2) Your asking.
(3) If you don't care if you sell it or not, no need to vent.

 

[latazyo]

I hear you Doug...but remember any material item is only worth what someone will pay for it, but you can't take lowballers, in the used gear market its a game of negotiation

on the other side of the spectrum, sometimes I dont understand sellers that have a lens for sale with no transferable warranty for like $50 under new retail price w/ 5 yr warranty

 

[Doug]

Well, I divide the offer to ship used by the new price delivered to come up with 27% of retail as a discount. Simple arithmetic.

Well, ok, no need to vent, but I Felt like it this time.

Agreed to a point Leighton. Well, on a 329 lens, an offer of 250 shipped USA is 79 plus shipping off a 329 lens, seems reasonable to me. Well, one would think.

Again, if I can only get 200 for it, then may as well just keep it. 79 divided by 329 = 24% and change. Ok, so 24%, but with free shipping, that isn't always given on new, so that accounts for the extra 4% or so.

As best I know, no lens is sold used for much higher percent than that, that's all I am saying here, really.

 

[latazyo]

27% is a reasonable discount for used lens in my opinion

I dont think your asking price is too much

 

[StL_Don]

Doug,
It would help to know which lens? If it a DX... well, they've fallen out of favor right now.
If it is anything like a kit lens they're a dime a dozen so to speak and need more than 25% off to sell (IMO).
Anything else I'd say ~25% is a good discount.
Since the FS forum has become kind of boring with no replies allowed I don't watch it as much as I once did
but I certainly remember popular lenses selling for less than 25% off.

If it makes you feel better I've had stuff for sale at what I thought was very good prices and don't even get offers.
Tells me that either I'm off base on price or there's just no interest for the goods around these parts.
Speaking of 'these parts', the landscape has changed quite a bit in the last year or so.

Don

 

[Doug]

Thanks Leighton, yeah, that's sort of what I thought. The market though is in a bit of turmoil right now due to economy. So, that could be influencing things. But you'd think it wouldn't influence that much on a 250 lens, oh well, life goes on. I have sold some things this week that needed clearing out, so all is not lost.

Doug

 

[Doug]

I keep posting and someone replies while I am posting, Don, your words seem wise to me, agreed. I didn't want it to seem like an "advertisement for my sale item, so I didn't mention it, but since you asked, it's a 35mm f2.0 prime lens, not DX. Agreed I should have posted photos of it, I got lazy, and didn't do my part in that area. It is true the dump DX thing for FX converts has heavily influenced that market. There's still demand, but not as much as supply. Thus...

I have noticed a slower pace for sure, as with items like yours. Man, that photo trekker bag is like 380 list now new. Seems like a easy sale, or should be.

 

[latazyo]

I didn't realize that was your post

I was a day late on that tripod you had for sale...I snooze, I lose

if that 35 2 is anything like the 50 1.8 then I'd be interested, but your assessment of the current money situation is fairly accurate

I have none, and Im sure many others don't either...there's actually a lot of "good" deals floating around the classifieds right now that I'd love to get my hands on

it was driving me crazy during that period of $850 17-55s after the D700 came out, I wish I could have gotten one, but alas, no money for camera gear....especially since xmas is coming up now

 

[StL_Don]

LOL - I thought my price shipped for the bag was a steal. But then I thought my D2x was also.

The 35 f/2 is such a sweet lens. That and the 50 f/1.4 were the ones I was thinking of when I said they sold for less than 25% off.

I'd keep it. It is such a good lens and so versatile... especially on FX. I've fallen in love with mine all over again.

Don

 

[StL_Don]

....especially since xmas is coming up now

Christmas is but one day a year... good glass is a 365 kind of thing:biggrin:

Dpm

 

[BourbonCowboy]

$250 is a good price for a 35/2 in EX condition - particularly if it has the hood and a filter. But I wouldn't sell mine for that...:biggrin:

 

[Doug]

It was a guilt sale really Don, felt guilty I have so much stuff, so looking to thin things a little, and I just haven't went to it as much lately. I'll do as you say, give it another try on FX.

Wait, if glass is 365, isn't Christmas too?

nope Mark, never had the hood, and I don't give filters away. lol. They are to expensive and remain in inventory when not used. haha. Actually, I created my own hood with two step down rings combined, it's sort of cool really, a good reason to keep it, haha. Well, it's more a flaired edge than a hood, but it also readies the lens to accept 77mm filters, uh huh.

Doug

 

[Big Daddy]

Let's see. On B&H Photo a brand-new U.S. model 35/2 is $309.95. Shipping from New York to the Seattle area is $5.95 so total for a brand-new 35/2 is $315.90. (Obviously this is without sales tax.)

27% off of $315.90 is $230.61, not $250.

$250 is about 21% off, or a $65.90 savings for a lens with caps but nothing else.

$65.90 more buys a brand-new lens in brand-new condition and package, with the Nikon 5-year warranty.

There might be a way to get a Live Cashback at B&H for a tiny $6 or so more, making it a $60 difference on a $315.90 lens.

IIRC I bought a 35/2 from a reputable member here, also with just caps, for $210 or $215.

The used value of the lens is helped by the great samples here. The used value of the lens is hurt by rumors of a Nikon 30/1.8 AF-S or whatever rumor of the day exists.

 

[JustEd]

For the "sheer" heck of it.

Don't feel bad, reselling is always a hit and miss process. It may just be that no one want that particular lens right now, or no one is buying right now.

In another hobby of mine, the price of lightly used equipment is about 90% of new at a online discount store. Never the less sometimes in that hobby you can find an item that just doesn't move even at half the retail price. For example, I just purchased a radio that regularly sells online for 769 buckarooskies. For some reason, no wanted the one advertised as new in the unopened box but several years old, and I got it for almost half price. Why no one else wanted it is beyond me, possibly I was the only one who wanted that model right now?

On the other hand, I often see listings in places like eBay for photographic equipment where the asking price is above what you can buy the same thing for from B&H or Adorama, but it sells quickly.

In closing, the two factors that seem to drive used prices are desirability and timing, JMO! Just check out the real estate market lately for an example!

 

[Gary Irwin]

I had a lens for sale for a while, everyone seems to want one in Wanted to Buys, but nobody wishes to pay for one. I don't get it. If the price averages 27% off retail, is that not a reasonable discount for a good lens with no known issues? I'm just asking for input is all. Honestly, I don't care if I sell the lens or not, I'll sit it in the "cupboard" as my Euro friends say and gaze at it's shere beauty, or as we say in the USA, I'll sit it in the can and sit on it. haha.

I'm just confused, I mean you cannot discount a cheap lens (329.00 new) the same amount as a 1500.00 lens, if you do, you may as well just box it up and give it to someone. Doh!

I feel better now.

Well, a $329 dollar lens is obviously a consumer lens where the discounts for used are are typically much more than 27%. Only pro and high-demand lenses can command prices in the ~20% discounts from new.

And don't go by the number of WTB ads... most of them should be posted as WTS (Want To Steal).

Anyway, thats my experience.

Gary

 

[Big Daddy]

Also -- for a 35/2, make sure you list the year of manufacture if you know it, and whether it's AF or AF-D.

Supposedly the older 35/2's (before 2001 or 2000, not sure which) can develop aperture grease problems. That tends to make buyers shy away from older used copies, or used copies in general when the age is not clear. Whether one likes him or not, Ken Rockwell has written about the supposed aperture grease problem so a lot of buyers know about it. (I say "supposed" because I've never had it myself.)

The better a seller informs, the better a chance for a sale.

 

[BourbonCowboy]

Supposedly the older 35/2's (before 2001 or 2000, not sure which) can develop aperture grease problems. That tends to make buyers shy away from older used copies, or used copies in general when the age is not clear.

Hehehehehe...that's what attracted me to my copy. I picked it up from Nykonian for $90, spent another $90 to get it cleaned, and another $20 for a new hood on ebay. Since I already had handfuls of 52mm filters, my total investment was only $200. Now, it's in mint condition, and sharp as a tack. I don't use it as much with my D700, and although I've considered it, I doubt I'll ever sell it - even for the upgraded AF-S model. It's just too good to part with.

 

[Big Daddy]

Hehehehehe...that's what attracted me to my copy. I picked it up from Nykonian for $90, spent another $90 to get it cleaned, and another $20 for a new hood on ebay. Since I already had handfuls of 52mm filters, my total investment was only $200. Now, it's in mint condition, and sharp as a tack. I don't use it as much with my D700, and although I've considered it, I doubt I'll ever sell it - even for the upgraded AF-S model. It's just too good to part with.

Glad it worked out for you Mark. The key here is that you got the lens in working order for $180, not $250. And that you were willing to go through the effort to get it professionally up-to-spec.

I've sold mine because I just wasn't using it. I figure it's pretty easy to reacquire if I want it again.

 

[GeoKost]

Hey Doug, I, like you have watched many sales on the for sale forum and I have seen a trend where many people are looking for a good bargain or "a steal" per say.

I do have to say that there have been a few items that I have snoozed on and wished I had not.

Also, on a 35mm f/2, I have one, and if a person out there really wanting a good lens, doesn't know what there missing, at least if it is their style of shooting.

I was kinda poking at you there about the 27%, it just sounded like a odd number to come up with.

Good luck with your sale.